"The Motherland Is Service": the National Centre RUSSIA launches a series of meetings on professional journeys
At the National Centre RUSSIA, the first meeting in the "The Motherland Is Service" series, part of the nationwide "What Does the Motherland Begin With?" project, took place on 22 September. The meeting was dedicated to the theme "Healthy Family" and brought together representatives of the healthcare and social protection professions. The event was held as a series of conversations with speakers, who spoke about key stages in their professional journeys, their achievements and the experiences that shaped them as specialists. They also discussed self-realisation, overcoming challenges, the importance of gaining new knowledge and finding motivation to serve through one's profession.
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Director of the Nikolai Priorov National Medical Research Centre of Traumatology and Orthopaedics and Chief External Traumatologist and Orthopaedist of the Russian Ministry of Health Anton Nazarenko shared his experience. He spoke about how his love for his country and its people helps him combine his work as a practising surgeon with scientific research and the development of new technologies.
"The Motherland is, above all, a sense of belonging to the fate of one's people, to their victories and hardships. This sense of belonging is impossible without deep personal feelings nurtured in the family — attachment, love and gratitude. Therefore, love for the Motherland is expressed through service, and selflessness lies at its heart. In professional terms, this means selflessly putting one's skills and knowledge at the service of one's people. This is a profound existential choice of the spiritual over the material," Anton Nazarenko explained.
He added that for a doctor to develop professionally, professional skills need to be accompanied by comprehensive cultural and spiritual development. According to him, this helps shape a professional mindset — a combination of ways of thinking and spiritual principles that prevents a person from straying from the path of service. At the end of his speech, Anton Nazarenko offered young people advice on how to stay on their chosen path, maintain their interest in their work and succeed in their profession. The key point is not to be afraid of difficulties and to remember why you chose your vocation.
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor and Chief Physician of the National Medical Research Centre for Otorhinolaryngology of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia Alexander Kuznetsov is a fourth-generation doctor, so the question of which profession to choose never arose for him. He spoke about how he found his specialisation and what ultimately proved to be the closest and most important factor in that choice.
"The theme of our meeting is "Healthy Family". For me, this is not an abstract concept, but what my journey into medicine began with and what I work for every day. From childhood, I saw not the public-facing side of the profession, but its everyday reality: night shifts, concern for patients and daily hard work. And it was this example that shaped my understanding that service is not about grand words, but about specific work that needs to be done well," Alexander Kuznetsov said.
He added that the theme "Healthy Family" has several dimensions: first, the family as a source of professional choice, through the example of relatives; second, the family as a source of support, patience and understanding; and third, the family as a source of the key values underlying any profession — honesty, responsibility and respect for work.
"I do not insist that my children become doctors. But I want them to grow up to be people for whom service is not an empty phrase. The Motherland is made up of specific people: our patients, our colleagues and our families. And serving it begins with doing your job honestly — so that tomorrow is better than yesterday," Alexander Kuznetsov concluded.
Yelizaveta Oleskina, Director of the "Old Age in Joy" Charitable Foundation for elderly people and people with disabilities, recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation for charitable activities and a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, shared the story of her professional journey. She described the path she went — from her first visit to a care home to the "Grandchildren by Correspondence" volunteer programme, and then the creation of the foundation and work on the "Daily Care" project, which is now being developed across the regions and reaches around 185,000 people. She emphasised that the essence of care is not to "hand someone over and forget about them", but to provide human attention and dignified conditions until the very end of life.
The speakers' stories highlighted the importance of one's profession, mentorship and the ability to remain human even in the most difficult circumstances. Service through one's profession helps shape the future by caring for people, taking responsibility for one's work and passing experience on to those who are only beginning their own journeys.
"The Motherland Is Service" is part of the National Centre RUSSIA's original project "What Does the Motherland Begin With?", implemented during the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation. The project's first stage was a survey in which more than 1,000 people from 74 regions of the country answered a single question: what does the Motherland begin with for them personally?
The next stage, "The Motherland Is People", consisted of thematic meetings addressing family, health, infrastructure for living, self-realisation, sovereignty and traditional values. The new series, named "The Motherland Is Service", tells the stories of people who have found their calling in a particular profession and become examples for others.
Event photobank
On 15 September, a 558-square-metre children's playground inspired by Dymkovo toys opened in Yekaterinburg's Preobrazhensky Park.
